Game Review

NES Remix Review

During what is likely to be the final Nintendo Direct of 2013, there were a few surprise game announcements. One of these was a bit more surprising than the rest, because it was available immediately after its announcement — NES Remix.

At first glance, NES Remix might just seem like a collection of NES games, but in truth it's more like a combination of WarioWare and Retro Game Challenge — there are no fully playable games here; instead, you are tasked with completing short, simple tasks in 16 different NES games within a set time limit, after which your performance is graded and you unlock further stages.

Upon starting a level, you'll be presented with a certain objective, and then you've got a short period of time to complete it. Naturally, it's not as if each level only has one challenge, unless it's a very long one; most of them will have three or four in a row before you can move on.

The first few levels for each game are quite simple and give you a chance to (re)learn the game's mechanics, even going so far as to give you unlimited lives, but you'll quickly find yourself completing harder sets of challenges with a strict life limit, forcing a full level restart if you lose them all. Once you're past the first few levels, each game will start throwing you some interesting curve-balls — in one Super Mario Bros. level, for example, the whole game is mirrored so you move left, while in one of the Mario Bros. levels you control both player 1 and player 2 simultaneously.

For each level you complete, you'll get a rank, represented by a maximum of three stars. Collect enough of these and you'll unlock additional levels, as well as new games, each with yet another set of levels to beat. If you're super fast on a level, the stars you get will also be rainbow-coloured, adding some extra incentive to figure out the optimal strategy for every challenge. Completing levels will also earn you "bits" — essentially points by another name — which will unlock sprite-shaped stamps for you to use on the game's Miiverse community, a neat little extra.

While the game-specific challenges generally keep the same game mechanics and elements as the original games, the Remix category, which features levels based on all games, mixes things up a little with new features. One Excitebike-based stage, for example, has you driving in the dark with only part of the ground in front of you being visible. Elsewhere, a Super Mario Bros. level has you running through a level that has completely frozen over, making every single block slippery.

When you get even further, the Remix levels will even feature some "crossover" games, a Nintendo fan's dream come true — how about trying to beat the first level of Donkey Kong as Link, who can't jump? Or trying to play Pinball while the bottom half of the screen is filled with lava from Bowser's castle?

As you may expect, not much has changed about the audio and visuals of the individual games. Catchy 8-bit title screen and menu themes are about the only new things in the music department, and while the graphics have been polished very slightly (for example, sprites in Super Mario Bros. now all cast shadows) they're largely identical to the way they were over 25 years ago.

Conclusion

It would be simple to write off NES Remix as something only die-hard retro gamers would enjoy, but developer indies zero is really on to something here — the 200+ challenges are short enough to be interesting and fun to replay, but not long enough to outstay their welcome. The developer has even somehow managed to make challenges based on games like Urban Champion and Baseball fun to play, which is an achievement in itself. If you're the type who likes to relentlessly collect stuff, the stars and stamps will also keep you entertained for quite a while.

Perhaps if this becomes a success, we could see a sequel with more NES games, or even SNES games? One can only hope — but for the time being, this totally unexpected surprise ranks as one of the Wii U eShop's most engaging and downright enjoyable downloadable titles.

Game Trailer

User Comments (125)

That game is SO much fun Its basicly a learning tool to get into these old classics and learn the ropes. And it has tons of replay value for score hunters. It is really a brilliant idea. And if i may dream: How about a SNES remix ?

@sleepinglion To be honest, i made much much worse purchases for roughly 10€. I dont mind paying that ANd DLC would be really fitting. A pack with more games, more challenges whatever. The games structure perfectly compliments that.

Was waiting for the review.....was hoping for a 7 so I could skip this and not feel like I was missing something........but a 9.....now I'm trying to talk myself into the mindset of $15 isn't that much.

I agree with @Einherjar in that this game looks like a training tool for old school NES games. Also, there's huge potential to leverage sales of the classics (this game is advertised next to the classics in the eShop). The concept seems like a brilliant idea but not for the asking price. Hopefully they offer this game at a discounted price soon. Otherwise, I'll pass.

@MAB I dont think that you could master some of these challenges with touchscreen controlls.

Also, i have no clue what the problem with the pricing is. Everything with decent content under 15€ is fair game to me honestly. If retail games that last for 3-4 hours at a price of roughly 70€ are on the top sales spot, why is <15€ such a big problem ? And 30cents, really ? Ill never get that "i want everything for free" mentality. I guess its part of the generation smartphone :/

Watched a couple Lets Plays and got too excited had to buy it. Definitely a great surprise on the Direct today (which was filled with an unusual amount of surprises). Already had a couple challenges that I was just about ready to throw the Gamepad at something cause I couldn't land that 'jump' quite right or couldn't get the rainbow stars. Also got to love those stamps. Wish they would allow them to be used in general chat as a semi-useful achievement.

Was sceptical but downloaded it because I liked the idea.And I have to say: YEAHHH Hooraaay!Great idea, great realisation. And even games that are not that good as a stand alone game shine with this style of gameplay.

Suddenly it makes sense why Nintendo have been releasing such weird titles like Urban Champion on the Virtual Console lately. All of these blackbox NES games are now included in this Remix, so if you enjoy playing them here, you can immediately go out and buy the full version! (Not sure if that's going to work in the case of Urban Champion, but whatever). It's a good business strategy.

I think the price is more than right, considering your get the best parts of these games, the unlockable stamps, AND the remixes? The starting seven games alone would cost more than $15 and not all of them would be enjoyable the entire way through.

Also have to say that the achievement system is devilish. Every other game is "just a couple more stars to the next remix" or "just a few more points to the next stamp". Easy to lose a couple hours in this game.

Surely the price of €14.99 is maybe ok, but I would possibly play it for 10 minutes and play another day, cause it's just a highscore challenge for now and then, nothing more and for that price I think New Super Luigi U delivers better experience. I also didn't play the originals that much exept Super Mario Bros. , but I could be totally wrong looking at the 9/10.

It seems like a fun little game, but actually just being a compilation of NES games (and therefore basically a NES game itself) it should really only cost €5,-.. And that's actually pushing it, since Nintendo has already overpriced all their VC games.

I'm putting this down as another baffling decision by Nintendo. Why put this on the Wii U w/ it's simplistic graphics and limited time period gameplay? Wouldn't this be perfect on the take anywhere SD screen 3DS? I'ld rather the Wii U got a game like Kirby Triple Deluxe w/ its 4 player fight mode. If I want a "taste" of these games I'll go back and play Brawl.

Looked interesting since the begin, but I already planned for these holidays more gaming than the time I actually have XDI'll pass for now, but totally keep an eye on it, could be a nice purchase in future

@rjejrI love my 3DS but this is much better on the big screen. It's not like it's a game you can play just in short periods as it's so engaging. Also without spoiling anything some of the remix would be impossible to play on a small screen.

@Einherjar I agree, I had some credit and picked this up yesterday on a whim. It's a great learning tool that in many many short bursts teaches you either how to perform certain moves or lets you brag on Miiverse and prove your mad skillz. I'm surprised how much fun I'm having with this game and am glad I picked it up. I'm even brushing up on my DK skills, though I already had them in Mario. Highly recommended.

@Kirk It would and wouldn't work on mobile in my opinion. Where it would not work is in performing precision moves on a touch screen. Perhaps if Nintendo remade it with swipe moves, but then what's the point?

That was me being sarcastic suggesting it looks very much like the typical type game you'd find on a modern smartphone or tablet (ignoring the actual control input for a second).

Not saying it looks bad but is def looks quickly thrown together and a bit "filler" like many mobile Apps, regardless of how solid the gameplay actually is (I'm sure it's actually a lot of old school fun to be honest).

It def wouldn't work as is on an actual mobile device like a smartphone or tablet though, because it requires precise d-pad and button control most of the time, but it would work 100% perfectly on a 3DS/2DS which is what I've previously suggested it would be great on.

I'd ideally like to see this game for a slightly cheaper price and with some kind of cross-play option so that you could play it on either the Wii U or 3DS/2DS as and when you choose.

Hmmm I feel like a grumpy old man,it looks like im the only one who didnt reckon much to this. If it was n64 or even snes remix then id be excited. But im just sick to the back teeth of mario donkey kong and excite bike etc! Then again if these challenges are as addictive as people say I may have to swallow my pride and give them a bash.

I hope Ninty makes more of these. Maybe NES Remix 2 with stuff from Metroid, Punch-Out!!, Super Mario Bros 2, Zelda II, Kid Icarus, StarTropics, etc. Even better in my opinion would be an SNES or N64 Remix game. I'd love to do crazy challenges like this in games like Super Metroid, Link to the Past, Mario 64, and Super Smash Bros!

@Reynoldszahl - "So please before forming your oppinion you should get some info on the game first."

I watched the video and read the review. Did Nintendo put out a demo for me to try? If not, then that's all I have to base my opinion on. Unless you think i need to spend $15 to buy the game first in order to decide if I want to buy it?

Great review. I have $5 in my eShop wallet, so I think I will add another $10 and try this puppy out. As a gamer who grew up on the NES and SNES this looks down my alley. Just have to be patient and wait for Sunday when I get home from the in-laws.

As a huge retro fan I have no interest in this mini game collection. I would rather spend my time playing all of the actuall great games that the NES had. But hey, it looks like some people dig it so that's cool too.

I felt $15 was too much for this which it honestly is compared to the pricing of various downloadable titles across platforms. Regardless though its quite a fun game that mixes Warioware with a whole lot of nostalgia. It is well done, though some more challenges would of been nice as they don't take too long to get through.

So I reminded myself that $15 is less then I make in an hour and about the same as a movie....after rationalizing the cost I downloaded this and it is a great old but new game. I love these games and I'm having a blast trying to complete the mini challenges.....although my lack of current NES skills have frustrated me and now I need to play more 8 bit as practice to compete with the Miiverse crowd. It really is well worth the money if you love the early NES era. Probably too expensive if you are indifferent. I would agree with the 9 but I could easily see this as a 6 if you aren't into the old games.

people complaining about the $15 price tag should realize this is as good if not better than a full fledged wario ware'sque game.. retail would be $29-$35... BUY THE DAMN GAME ALREADY!!! It's FANTASTIC!!!!

Now if only we had snes remix... If I had a update ahead of time I would of saved up to buy this but now that Christmas shopping is over I'm basically broke for right now. Hopefully I can get a eshop card this Christmas? It looks awesome.

I want to love this, I really do. I grabbed it immediately after the Nintendo Direct was over and enjoyed it for a couple hours. Then I started unlocking the crappy games. Golf, Pinball, Clu-Clu Land, Ice Climbers, etc. Playing those games is more like a chore than an enjoyable experience, and it really mars the whole experience for me. I would have loved to see more of the fan favorites from the NES era, such as Metroid, Punch-Out or Dr. Mario. The games included are all from fairly early in the system's life, and maybe that was intentional, but it means they had to reach pretty deeply into the grab bag of crap for some of the titles on display.

I hope this will be enough of a success for Nintendo that they will consider expanding it or put out a sequel with some of the better titles (or maybe the SNES version that everyone seems to want) because this idea has a lot of promise. It's just the execution that is somewhat flawed.

@Henmii Oh don't worry, the wackiness is intact. It might not feature half-naked dudes showing off their chest hair and you don't have to pick anyone's nose, but some of the remixes are really bizarre, like the Mario Bros. level where the whole screen zooms way out, or an Excitebike track where everything is green and the screen periodically "pings" as if someone is scanning using SONAR. The qualify of this is really mixed for me. On the one hand I love the silhouette levels which remind me of Donkey Kong Country Returns and add a little challenge without taking you completely out of the zone. I also love the few cross-over challenges I've unlocked so far, but a lot of the "remixes" are just the normal game with funky graphic and sound overlays and don't really do much more than annoy you while you play.

Picked this up last night. I ran through a bunch of challenges with friends taking turns. One of them was not a gamer at all. Watching her learn the basic mechanics of Super Mario Bros. in these bite sized challenges was pretty fascinating. As a gamer of 20+ years I think it's easy to lose perspective on just how brilliant and challenging these old simple games were at the time of release, and amazingly still are today. As a party game NES Remix is a blast, but it really shines as an introduction to learning how video games work. As far as price goes... My friends and I had a couple hours of really engaging interactive fun and probably didn't get through half the challenges, meaning there will be more fun to be had again soon. Considering the price of a movie ticket is about $13 bucks, I'd say it's worth the money.

To people complaining bout the price (which from the looks of it are the same people who complain about the price point of every single release no matter what price it actually is): it's time yet gain to explain the concept of the "free market".

You see, Nintendo has every right to charge whatever they want to for any game they release. If you think it costs too much, don't buy it. If enough people don't buy it, the price will drop. If people do buy it the price won't drop and you just miss out. Whining about it not costing a dollar on the internet is jus t childish.

YES! finally a release I really want.
I like playing in short bursts, and absolutely love warioware, retro game challenge and retro games in general.
My only complaint is that I would have prefered this to be on the 3DS.